Harry Potter and the Armies of the Dark Future
by gmgurp666
Summary: A wise man once said that 40K can add Awesome to anything, even the most spineless wimp in amine. I decided to see if he was right by applying it to Harry Potter.
1. Chapter 1: Special Day

Harry Potter and the Armies of the Dark Future

Chapter 1:Special Day

This whole idea came about because of three things:  
1. The awesomeness that 40K can bestow upon anything.  
2. The need for some awesome in the Harry Potter story.  
3. My good friend Birga brainstorming with me and helping me dig through all the rough to find this Diamond Idea.  
If any one of these things had not existed I'm not sure I would have ever started writing this. But since I have the ideas flow so easily that it almost writes itself. I hope you enjoy this version of the Classic story as much as I enjoy writing it.

Harry Potter was an extraordinary boy living a less than ordinary life. His aunt and uncle seemed to think that he was a the most parasitic life form that had ever existed. They forced him to live in a small closet under the stairs and never bought him anything new if they could avoid it. His uncle delighted in belittling the boy and his aunt tried to pretend he didn't exist. His cousin on the other hand did everything he could to make Harry's life a living hell. Beat the freak was his favorite game, followed quickly by chase the freak.

During the summer he did his best to stay away from his family. Not only did he avoid his cousin, but his aunt actually preferred it this way. Today there was something special in store for him. He was walking down one of the many sidewalks that he frequented in the morning when he came to a familiar intersection. He sometimes went straight, turning right farther down to circle around the neighborhood. Usually he turned right here for a tighter loop. But he never went left. There wasn't really a reason, he had never been told not to. He just didn't go that way.

He went left.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Harry found himself standing in front of a shop window, looking in upon the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The smooth curves and gloss black finish of the miniatures stirred something deep inside him. He knew he could never afford them, but that wouldn't stop him from dreaming.

"Hi, do you play?" A voice asked from his right.

Harry turned to look at the source of the question, finding a kind faced boy. He had a bit more weight than he should, but nothing like Dudley, who could be several boys their age if he wanted to. "No, this is my first time here. I don't even know what it's called."

"The name of the game is Warhammer 40K. It's set in the far future and you play with miniatures. The rules are easy enough to learn, do you want to?"

"Sure, I'm Harry."

"I'm Neville. Let's go in."

"This is my army." Neville said as he set the case he was carrying on the table. He extracted several units and set them on the table. The insecticide forms held a certain lethal quality that Harry found appealing, but not as enticing as the army in the display case. "Their called the Tyranids. They are an adaptive organic race that uses a hive mind to control their units."

"What are those over there called?" He pointed at the display case.

"Those are the Dark Eldar. Eldar are the space elves, and the dark ones embrace torture and fear. I never really got into them. But the Tyranids are cool. They launch spores at a planet that infect the natives and convert them into more Tyranids. They waste nothing, even striping the atmosphere before they move on?"

"Can we try something small?"

"Sure, let's try a couple Warrior Broods, four units each. That will give you some practice with both ranged and melee fighting."

Neville started setting up the eight pieces while he explained the rules. Harry did his best to absorb the information, but he knew he wasn't catching it all.

"Hey cous. Getting another one hooked?"

"Hey Rich. This is Harry. Actually he was eying the Dark Eldar army you have on display. We started talking, and now I'm going to try to teach him the rules."

"Pleasure to meet ya Harry. I'm Richard Longbottom,"He said, holding out his hand,"Neville's cousin and owner of the shop."

"Nice to meet you, sir."

"So, you think you might like the Dark Eldar?"

"They do look cool."

"Yeah. But they take a special touch to play right. The guy that sold them to me said he just couldn't get it."

"I just wish I could afford them, but my aunt and uncle won't ever let me get them."

"Man, that's rough. Live with them?"

"Yeah, my folks died when I was one. My aunt and uncle think I'm a terrible burden."

"It can't be easy on you either." Neville said,"My parents went crazy when I was about that age. I live with my gran."

"Yeah, Neville here has had it tough too. But it sounds like you just drew a dud of a family. Tell ya what, when's your birthday?"

"Um. It's today actually. I'm nine."

"When's your party?" Neville asked."I'll ask my gran if I can go."

"I don't get parties." Harry almost whispered.

Richard put his hand on Harry's shoulder,"Today you do kid."

He walked over to the store counter and came back with his arms full. He handed a soda to each one and a segmented carrying case to Harry.

"You can have the Dark Eldar army, happy birthday."

"I couldn't." Harry started.

"Listen, I've been trying to get rid of that army for three years. I'm never gonna move it, and I hate to see a beautiful army like that just gathering dust. That and I have a thing for hard luck stories." Richard ruffled Neville's hair to indicate his meaning.

Harry couldn't believe his luck today. He started thinking that making left turns might be a good thing after all. Then it hit him,"Thank you Richard, but my aunt will never let me keep it."

"No prob man,"Neville said."I'm in here almost every day during the summer. I can hang on to it for you."

Harry could feel the emotions brimming within him. He had never known that people could be so kind to him. All the kids at school either thought he was a freak because of his hand me down cloths or they were afraid of Dudley."Thanks guys. I don't really know what to say."

"Hey man, just enjoy your birthday." Richard said.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"Neville dear." An older woman called from the door.

"Over here gran. I made a new friend today."

The woman came over and peered at Harry."A pleasure meeting you, I'm Neville's grandmother."

"I'm Harry, ma'am. Harry Potter." Both Neville and his grandmother tensed at hearing the boy's name. Even though they had spent hours playing 40K to teach Harry the rules, he had never told Neville his last name.

Suddenly she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly,"I'm sorry about what happened to your parents dear."

Harry wasn't sure how to take this,"Um, thank you."

She let go of him and looked at her grandson,"So what have you two been doing?"

"Richard gave Harry a Dark Eldar army since today is his birthday. So We've been playing so Harry can learn how."

"Well happy birthday dear, but we really do have to be going Neville."

"Okay gran, just give us a chance to pack up."

They packed carefully and then Harry helped his only friend carry both their armies out to the car.

"Hey, Neville. I'm gonna take the codex home with me so I can read it tonight."

"Cool man, see you tomorrow."

"Definitely." The two youths high fived and headed their own ways.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The whole summer passed that way, with Harry and Neville meeting at least five days a week to pit their armies against each other. Both boys increased steadily in skill as they continued to try different approaches to each other's armies. On slow days even Richard would get in on the fun. This created a three way battle between Tyranid, Dark Eldar and Blood Ravens. To everyones surprise Harry won, holding the designated structure for three turns.

"I've never seen that, Dark Eldar holding against a Space Marine assault. Congrats kid, I think you understand how to use that army, and that's rare."

"Yeah man, how did you do that?" Neville asked.

"I just used them like they were meant to be used. They prefer to force their enemies into a corralled position and then kill them. Let the target do the leg work, just lead them to the right place."

Harry had undergone a lot of changes that summer. His imagination had finally been sparked into a full flame, and he put it to good use. Dudley and his gang were starting to get the hint that following Harry was a bad idea. One time they had been chasing after him as he rounded a corner. Only when they came around the same corner they ran into a brick wall.

Dazed, but still conscious Dudley looked up to see Harry standing on top of the ten foot wall, smiling wickedly down at him. For the first time in his life Dudley Vernon was afraid his cousin. He could not explain why he was scared, but it was undeniable. What made it worse was that he knew that Harry could feel his fear, and was reveling in the tables being turned. Then Dudley finally passed out.

After that all it took was that smile to scare Dudley into nearly loosing control of his bodily functions, and the effect was contagious. Harry found that his 'guardians' were easy to scare, and if done in a large enough crowd, they wouldn't even admit it.

The rest of his summer went rather well after he discovered this strange power to instill fear in his family. He was careful not to push it too far, but he did enjoy the decreased hostility from the people he lived with.

When it came time for school to recommence he found himself wishing he could just find a way to make summer go on forever. But in the end he just went back. And so his life went back to normal, almost. Without Dudley beating him up, Harry finally managed to make a few friends. He also excelled in his classes, bringing in A's and B's.

The next summer he resumed the routine of visiting the gaming shop. Neville was there every day as well. They played over and over again, varying the scenario each time. No matter who won, they both enjoyed their time together. One thing Harry always noticed about his friend was the way he seemed to be a little jumpy whenever his grandmother was around. For his tenth birthday he got two more squads for his army, one mandrake and one scourge. He thanked Neville and Richard profusely for the gifts.

The rest of the summer went by uneventfully, with Harry avoiding his family and spending time with his friends.

Then he returned to school for the next year with little change. He made few additional friends, but managed to keep all his old ones. His grades were again high and his teachers noticed him for the first time.

Then the time Harry longed for the most came. Summer arrived with none of the fan fair he felt it deserved. For two months he went through the same routine, playing 40K five days a week.

ooo000OOO000ooo

One morning Harry awoke to the sound of his aunt 'gently' informing him that she was starting breakfast. He went out a minute latter and assisted with frying the bacon. His uncle and Dudley came down just as he was moving the food to plates.

He sat down to eat, but just as his fork was moving toward his mouth the mail slot clicked.

Harry shoved the food in and got up to have a date with destiny.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Man are these chapters short for me. But I don't really want to cover too many major story points per chapter. Thanks for reading, hope you continue.

Thanks to my wife for reviewing and my best friend for being a sounding board.


	2. Chapter 2 :Letters and Truths

Harry Potter and the Armies of the Dark Future Chapter 2: Letters and Truths

Harry walked down the hall casually. He had to admit that his life had gotten better since he learned how to scare them. He always suspected that there was something about him that they were afraid of.

What was it?

He picked up the mail and quickly sorted through it. He stopped when he got to a yellowed envelope sealed with red way. The symbol pressed into the wax was a large H with four smaller images in the background.

The really surprising thing was the address. How did they know where he slept? He had never told anyone that secret.

He pocketed the letter and continued into the kitchen. Breakfast passed quickly, but not fast enough for Harry. Not with the letter burning a whole in his pocket.

Finally he finished his food and asked to be excused. He left as quickly as he felt would go unnoticed. When Harry turned the corner off of Privet Drive he pulled the letter out and started reading. He let his feet remember the way to the shop, and was lost in thought as he read.

By the time he got to the shop he was absolutely convinced that the letter was a mistake. But the address was still too precise to be wrong.

"Harry!" He heard Neville coming,"Harry, you got your letter." He turned his head,"Yeah gran, he got it."

To Harry's surprise the elderly woman was moving as fast as she could to get over to him. When she got to him she was a little out of breath but her eyes were wide as she spotted the parchment in his hand. She motioned them inside.

"Richard dear, we need some privacy." She said to the shop owner.

It was a weekday so the shop was still empty, but they only had about an hour before a regular might show up.

Richard looked up from his catalog and spotted his two religious patrons. He also recognized the letter in the hand of the one he was not related to. As he was a Muggle from a predominantly magical family, so he knew what that meant."Sure thing gran. Glad to see Harry will finally get away from his Muggle family." He walked to the gaming room and unlocked it.

"In here. No one expected today, and I'll lock it to make sure."

"Thank you dear." She said to her eldest grandson, "Come along boys, we have much to discuss."

When they were secured in the room Mrs. Longbottom took a seat and motioned for Harry to do the same."Harry, I see that you have read your letter. Do you have any questions?"

Harry had too many to know where to begin ,"Is this a joke?"

Neville's grandmother was clearly not expecting this one. She looked shocked for a moment, then started laughing."I can see why you would ask that. No, despite what your 'guardians',"She stressed the word distastefully,"may say, magic does exist, and you can do it."

Harry thought for a moment. Yes that would work to explain all the weird things that had happened to him over the years."Okay, so how am I going to get all this stuff?" He waved the list of supplies gently.

"We can arrange for someone to take you to London tomorrow. There you can get everything you need."

"I doubt if my aunt and uncle are going to pay for this. Just the other day she was dying some clothes for my new school's uniform."

"Your parents left you quiet a bit when they were murdered. It's not a fortune, but it will get you through school and set you up quiet well for a year or two afterwards."

It was Harry's turn to be shocked,"My parents.. were murdered?"

"Yes dear." She realized the problem,"I see. They never told you?"

Harry shook his head.

"Lilly and James were brave and loyal. That's probably what got them killed." She dabbed at her eyes,"Ten years ago there was a very bad wizard. He was trying to take over everything but there were those that fought him. Your parents were on the good side, as were Neville's parents. The enemy found them and," She paused for a moment to steady herself,"And killed them. He tried to kill you to, but it didn't work. Somehow the spell backfired and struck him. It also almost leveled the house. But that's where you got that scar."

She motioned toward the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Suddenly he remembered a dream he had from time to time. His mother screaming and a man laughing. Then a bright flash of green. Mrs. Longbottom gave him a moment to gather his thoughts, then pressed on,"You see, in our world, the magical world, you're famous. You were only one and you defeated the most powerful dark wizard of all time."

"So, why was I sent to live with those, what was the word, Muggles?"

"Because, while you did defeat the dark lord, he had many followers who could still have been dangerous. So our leader, Dumbledore, decided to hide you among the non-magical population."

Harry sat there for a moment trying to sort through his questions. Most of them he probably wouldn't or couldn't get answers for. But one he had to ask,"What do I tell my aunt and uncle?"

She put her hand on his shoulder,"You must tell them the truth. They have to know what is happening. I'll have Dumbledore send someone to get you tomorrow. That's as long as you can wait."

"Okay, I think I'll tell them tonight. So they're not too surprised when a stranger shows up."

"In that case, I think it is time for me to be going. Have fun today boys." She was gone before they could say anything.

"It's awesome that you are going to Hogwarts man." Neville said.

Harry had almost forgotten about his friend being there."Yeah man, provided I live through the night."

"Don't worry too much man. They can't be that bad."

"You have no idea."

ooo000OOO000ooo

"For the Hive."

"For Commorragh."

The salutation was one the boys had started using some time ago to declare their time together either starting or over. Harry used it somewhat reluctantly today because he was dreading returning home. He walked slowly in the general direction of his neighborhood. As he walked it occurred to him that the world had just taken a major one-eighty on him. This morning he was looking forward to another few weeks of summer and deeply dreading the return to school this fall. Now he was honestly dreading the rest of the summer after he told his aunt and uncle what he had discovered today. The bright spot was this Hogwarts he was going to on September first.

When it all came down to it, he didn't honestly see any way around telling them, but the row that was coming would probably be measurable on the Richter scale.

He walked into his house and was relieved to see the rest of the family just heading for the kitchen. He took a moment to wash up and joined the rest of them.

Conversation was the usual dribble about Uncle Vernon's job. Harry wondered how this man could be happy with his job if he screamed at people as often as he claimed to. Finally he started winding down and Harry readied himself for the chance.

"I got a letter in the mail today." He said.

The other three looked at him in shock. Well he had dealt with that enough today.

"Who would be writing to you?" His uncle asked.

Harry held up the letter so they could see the address,"It's from Hogwarts."

His aunt and uncle stopped cold at the name of the school. Harry decided to drop the last bomb before they recovered."Someone is coming tomorrow to take me to London so I can get what I need for school."

"Not in this house!" His uncle bellowed.

Harry could feel the adrenalin pumping through him, sharpening his senses. He could also feel the tingling that often accompanied these moments, was that his magic preparing itself for the fight as well. He had spent the whole day going over what would be said,"I know how my parents died." His voice was cold and level. His eyes dared them to deny lying to him for his entire life.

His uncle went pale and his aunt was frozen in a silent shriek. He had them right he where wanted them."I'm going to move into the spare bedroom, since I'm not going to have enough space in the cupboard for my school things."

He walked slowly out, giving the other three one last look, with that special smile, before exiting the kitchen.

He could hear his aunt crying and his cousin screaming about the room Harry was taking. Technically it was spare storage. But it had been the dumping ground for toys Dudley had managed to break for years.

Moving didn't take Harry too long, only one trip for everything he owned. Once into his new room he started clearing the piled junk. This took considerably longer because of the many years of detritus deposited here.

After an hour he was lying on his new bed reading the Dark Eldar codex. He had been through it several times, but it had a soothing effect on him. The tales of great raids and the torture that followed sang with a part of him he had come to listen to when he needed advice on dealing with his enemies.

He heard a knock at the door,"Enter."

The door opened to reveal his uncle looking slightly scared. Like he expected Harry to make him explode if he made the boy upset."Um, well, yes. Your aunt and I have discussed it, and we think it is a good idea for you to move up here. We do need that cupboard for more storage down stares."

"That, and you didn't think anyone else knew you were shutting me in a closet."

"I will not have that tone from you!"

"Or what?" He kept his voice even and let his uncle deflate,"That's what I thought. You know that they are watching. You know what they will do to you if anything 'untoward' happens to me. So what are you going to do to me?"

His uncle seemed to diminish with each point Harry made. Finally he just closed the door and went back down stairs. Harry resumed his reading, reflecting that life should be much easier with his family scared to death of what the evil wizards would do if he were mistreated.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Thanks again to my wife for reviewing it for me.


	3. Chapter 3: Into the Alley

Harry Potter and the Armies of the Dark Future Chapter 3: Into the Alley

The next day dawned brightly for Harry. He had never had a proper bed, or a window. The morning sun filled him with a life he had never felt before. He showered quickly and got into some of the better fitting clothes he owned.

'Have to do something about that today.' He thought as he collected the letter and headed down stairs to help his aunt with breakfast.

When he came into the kitchen he saw his aunt pouring orange juice into glasses and immediately took his place at the stove.

He flipped the bacon and spoke,"Good morning Aunt Petunia."

He heard her jump and a glass hit the floor. He quickly handed her a rag and went to get the broom and mop.

As his aunt sopped up the juice she asked,"So, not too good to help out are we?"

He returned with the cleaning gear and waited for her to stand. When she did he looked her in the eyes and said,"I don't expect special treatment. I will continue to help out around the house, just as I always have. But I do expect to be treated with respect."

He finished the cleaning as his aunt stood there with a blank expression on her face. As he finished preparing breakfast, including replacing the glass she had dropped, she spoke,"We just tried to raise you so you would turn out normal. We thought if we were hard enough on you than you wouldn't get mixed up in this nonsense."

Harry kept on setting up as he replied,"Thought if you beat me enough you could knock the magic out of me? Maybe if you insulted me enough you could shame me into being normal. Sorry to disappoint." He never let any emotion into his voice, but the meaning was clear.

Petunia was forced to reevaluate her actions toward Harry, and what she saw made her sick. She had believed it the right thing to do at the time, but now she had to admit, if only to herself, that what they had done to him was..

Inhuman, that was the only word for it.

Her self-loathing was interrupted by Vernon and Dudley entering the room. They took there seats with great care, almost as if they expected them to be booby-trapped. Harry set the last place, his, and started eating.

The other two males in the room ate sparingly as they watched this boy shaped time bomb before them. Petunia couldn't eat at all as her spirit was crushed under the weight of everything she had done in the name of normalcy.

When Harry finished he asked to be excused, just like normal. But was greeted with a nod from his aunt, as opposed to the usual grunt from his uncle. He went into the living room and flipped channels on the TV until he found a cartoon he really liked. Then he sat wondering when his escort for the day would show up.

Five minutes later Dudley waddled into the room and sat cautiously on the couch opposite Harry. He was utterly ignored by his cousin as he continued watching TV. Soon the pantomime pig turned to the box as well and got lost in the show.

While Dudley didn't understand what his parents were so scared of, he had been warned not to do anything to Harry. The Dursleys felt that it was better to just forbid everything as their son might not interpret anything less properly.

The show stirred something inside Dudley. The humor was just barely within his grasp, while the characters were something he could not quiet get. They were brave and all, kicking ass and taking names. But they were still smart, solving problems that Dudley could never have gotten. This started the vestigial intellect within the boy turning. This was not much, generations of selective breeding leaving it almost as useless as an appendix. But what little was there did enjoy the brief exercise. Harry thought to himself that if his cousin could come to enjoy anime, perhaps there was still hope for him. Harry had been introduced to anime one day when he had spent the day at Richard's shop while Neville couldn't make it. He had loved it, the quirky characters, the super science, the magic, and always the stories. There was one good thing about living with the Dursleys, Cable. They would have only the best, and that meant every channel they could get. Fortunately this had included four channels of nothing but anime. Harry had been used to watching only when his family was asleep, so he had missed much. But that should be changing soon.

There was a knock at the door and Harry went to answer it. Dudley did not even think about changing the channel, enthralled by the show.

Harry opened the door to find Neville and his grandmother waiting.

"For Commorragh!" He called to his friend.

"For the Hive!" His friend hissed back. They high fived and looked at Mrs. Longbottom.

She had a soft smile on her face as she looked at the two happy youths. She knew they, of all people, deserved it. "Are you ready to go Harry?" She asked.

"Need to let my Aunt know I'm leaving."

"How did they take it dear?"

"You didn't hear it? You must live farther away than I thought." He grinned at the joke and turned for the kitchen.

He poked his head into the kitchen and saw his aunt chopping vegetables with an absent expression on her face.

He waited until she had the knife clear of her fingers,"Aunt Petunia?"

She jumped a little and looked at him,"Yes?" There was a slight edge in her voice, but nowhere near the usual contempt.

"My ride is here." He hooked a thumb in the direction of the front door.

"Oh, Yes. Be home before dinner, no need to worry us too much." Her tone was less than sincere, but Harry decided to give her points for trying.

"I will, thanks."

He was gone.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The ride to London was uneventful, with Richard driving and Mrs. Longbottom in the pasenger seat. Harry and Neville sat in the back discussing magic. Harry kept asking questions that Neville answered with as much enthusiasm as he had ever seen in his friend.

Finally Neville's grandmother said,"It's right here Richard."

"Sure thing."He said as he pulled into an empty spot along the sidewalk. The older woman and the two boys got out and closed the doors.

Then Mrs. Longbottom leaned into the window,"See you in about four hours, dear."

"You sure you don't need some help gran?" Richard asked.

"No, dear. We have someone meeting us."

"Later then."

He pulled cautiously into the traffic and then was gone in the flow. The group turned to look at the shops and Harry noticed something odd. Right between the book store and the record shop was an old pub he would have sworn wasn't there before. The sign read Leaky Cauldron as he was rushed inside. The older women said,"I do wish they would put in another entrance."

They were quickly herded through by there chaperon, but Harry still got a glimpse of a dozen patrons. His aunt and uncle would have been repulsed by the rustic look of the place, but he loved it. The people looked more 'real' than any he had ever met.

Through the back door he came to a halt in front of a brick wall in a closed alley. Before he could ask the witch produced a wand and started counting bricks. She finally tapped three times on a particular brick and stood back. The brick quivered for a moment then a hole appeared. It widened until it was the size of a high archway.

Neville spoke,"Welcome to Diagon Alley."

Harry could not believe his eyes to start with. The huge collection of shops clustered so closely that it felt like some of them were about to pop out into the street at any moment.

Harry's eyes settled on the form of a huge man standing just to the side of the opening. His first thought was 'whoa a Space Marine'. Then the giant turned and seemed to recognize him.

"Hiya Harry. Man it's been a long time since I've seen you." The giant boomed.

"Hagrid, thank you for meeting us." Mrs. Longbottom said.

"Not a problem. The headmaster needs me to get something for him anyway."

"Well Harry say hello." She nudged him forward.

"Hello sir." Harry spluttered, still waiting to see a storm bolter appear out of nowhere and mow him down.

"Just call me Hagrid." He turned to gesture down the alley,"Well, we best be about it."

"Quiet right."

They went down to the large white building at the end of the main alley and Harry recognized the name from his previous conversation. Gringrotts, the wizard bank. He wondered if they would see a dragon. Upon entering the twin sets of double doors he was slightly disappointed to see what looked like a normal bank. True the tellers were all goblins using old style gold scales, but all the other features reminded Harry of muggle banks he had visited.

Hagrid walked up to the counter and spoke to the goblin there,"We've come to get some money from Mr. Harry Potter's vault."

"His key?" The goblin asked.

"Right here." Mrs. Longbottom handed it over.

Hagrid handed over a letter,"Professor Dumbledore sent me to get the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter and handed it back,"Very well, a guide will be with you shortly." He rang a bell.

Harry leaned close to Mrs. Longbottom and asked,"Is there someplace to exchange wizarding money for muggle money?"

"Yes dear."She pointed,"That counter right over there."

He nodded as two goblins showed up."This way, please." One said to Harry, and the other to Hagrid. They parted ways.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Half an hour later, following a wild roller coaster ride both ways, Harry exited the bank with a bag full of coins and folded a thick stack of bills into his wallet.

"Why do you need so much cash dear?"

"My aunt doesn't give me any money, and I think it would be nice to actually be able to spend some money in Rich's shop for a change."

She smiled down at him,"How you came out so sweet with a household like that is a wonder. Must be your mother's influence. She was the gentlest person you could imagine."

Harry felt the emotions well up again at the mention of his mother. He wanted to know about both his parents so bad.

Mrs. Longbottom sniffed,"We had better get going." They spent a couple hours getting everything without any real problems. They got trunks, robes, supplies and books. Hagrid even bought Harry an owl,"It's yur birthday soon, an yeh need a way to stay in touch with the rest of us."

Finally they got to the wand shop. They walked in and Harry felt like he was in a library. The rows of narrow boxes made him feel like he shouldn't touch anything.

"Good afternoon." A soft voice said from nowhere. Everyone jumped."Ah yes. Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter. I can remember when your parents came in here for their first wands."

He started measuring the boys with a tailors tape. After a few measurements he walked away but the tape kept at it, moving over Harry's body and then transferring to Neville. Ollivander went about taking boxes from the shelves. Once he had a full armload he said,"That will do." And the tape fell to the floor.

He handed a wand to each of the boys. Harry followed Neville's lead and gave it a wave. Before they could really do anything the wands were snatched out of their hands and new ones placed there. They went through this a few times until Neville's wand shot purple sparks.

Ollivander took the wand and wrapped it then continued the search for Harry's wand. After about twenty wands the old man started mumbling,"A difficult case, but not to worry, we can always find the right one."

He finally went to a shelf and pulled out a box, saying,"Maybe." He handed him the wand. Harry felt the power flow through him, focusing into his right hand. The wand felt a little off though, he couldn't quiet explain it but it was like he just wasn't holding it right. He flipped it around into a back arm grip and felt the click. The power started flowing into the wand and he saw a green glow as it coalesced into a huge blade. The effect faded as quickly as it formed, but he could swear that it was a mandrake arm-sword.

"Curious, most curious." Ollivander said before taking the wand and wraping it up.

Harry decided not to ask, he might not like the answer's effect on his friends.

They payed for their wands and exited the shop. Harry checked his watch,"Looks like we still have about half an hour to wait, how about some ice cream?"

"Yeah man, sounds great."

ooo000OOO000ooo

That night Harry decided to take some time studying his school books. While he had been told he couldn't use magic in the muggle world unless there was no other way to keep himself safe, he hadn't told his family that. They seemed even more scarred now that he had his school stuff, but still hadn't made the connection between student and inexperience.

"Well,"He thought,"What they can't figure out can just go on scaring them."

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Thanks to my wife for reviewing this for me.


	4. Chapter 4: The Hogwars Express

Harry Potter and the armies of the Dark Future Chapter 4: The Hogwarts Express

The rest of Harry's last month with the Dursleys went very well. He had a good birthday with his friends and bought some supplies for painting the miniatures he had gotten to bolster his army. Harry was even more delighted when Neville came in on his birthday very excited by Harry's gift to him. Harry had made arrangements with the owl shop to send his best friend a special present on his birthday. Neville had decided to name the owl Tyran while Harry had chosen Draznar for his.

Finally September the first arrived and Harry was taken to the train station by his aunt and uncle. His uncle was ready to be rid of him but his aunt surprised everyone.

She knelt down and hugged him, whispering in his ear,"I do hope you come back safely. Maybe I can make it up to you."

She released him and got back into the car. His cousin waved as they drove away. Harry was starting to see the beginnings of intelligence in Dudley over the last month. He still had a long way to go, but the longest journey began with the first step.

Harry turned and spotted his best friend watching,"I thought you said they were scum?"

"That was the first time she ever did that. Surprised the hell out of all of us."

"Sometimes people change." Neville shrugged.

"Sometimes people have a new view of reality pull a kamikaze into their brain." He spotted some carts and they dragged their trunks over.

"So did you bring your army?" Neville asked.

"For Commorragh." Harry replied, answering the question in no uncertain terms.

The two went in and Harry looked around for platform nine and three quarters."Okay, where is the platform."

Neville grinned wickedly,"You're gonna love this. Just follow me and don't stop unless I do, K?"

Harry wasn't quiet sure he liked the sound of this, but what the hell. Neville had never led him astray. "K."

Neville wheeled around and started rolling toward the barrier between nine and ten. Harry followed, thinking his friend was finally loosing it. When his friend disappeared into the bricks, Harry tried to stop, but found himself skidding through. Platform nine and three quarters was packed with students and their families.

The train was an old style passenger with a gleaming red engine at the front. They made their way carefully to the train and loaded their trunks into a compartment before closing the door and flopping on the couches.

They both pulled out books and glanced at their friend's choice. Harry smiled,"You're reading a new codex?"

"Just trying to figure out some of the weaknesses of the Space Marines. Things I can exploit with a Tyranid army."

"Getting tired of Richard thrashing you three out of four?"

"Was it that bad? I would have sworn it was more like two out of three."

"You weren't paying attention that last game, were you?"

"No, I was pretty out of it. How does he do that to me if we have been getting better?"

"Because we usually only play against each other. He plays against a lot more people, so he learns more tricks."

At this point the compartment door slid open and a boy with flaming red hair walked in,"Is there any room in here?"

"Sure thing, come on in." Neville said.

As the new kid got settled Neville looked at Harry's reading selection,"How can you read school books at a time like this?"

"Preparation is the first step in striking fear into your enemies."

Neville shivered,"You can get scary when you spout that rhetoric."

"Thank you." Harry said with a huge grin. The red head decided to step in at this point,"I'm Ron Weasley."

"Neville Longbottom."

"Harry."

As he said his name the compartment opened again and a girl with bushy brown hair poked her head in,"Do you have an open seat?"

"Yeah." Harry said sitting up.

She stepped in and introduced herself,"I'm Hermione Granger."

"Ron Weasley."

"Neville Longbottom."

"Harry." Harry was not trying to be rude, but he preferred to keep his name a secret for as long as possible.

As soon as the girl sat down she started talking,"Do any of you know what Hogwarts is like. I read about it but that doesn't really tell me what it's like?"

Harry was rather surprised she could say all that in one breath. He hoped she was just nervous and this was not her normal speed.

"My brothers say the whole castle is totally off it's rocker. Vanishing stairs, stairways that lead different places depending on the day, and the Headmaster. They say that he's nuts." Ron said.

"That's not very nice." Hermione said.

"That's a complement in there book. They love him because you can never really be sure what he's gonna do next."

The girl looked a little miffed at the explanation. She turned to Harry, who had his nose in his book and was only peripherally listening."Harry, have you read all your books yet? I have. I just feel that it's important to be prepared for anything the teachers might throw at us."

Harry lowered his book as the girl was finally finishing,"Nope, about chapter three on each, except potions and charms."He waved the book he was holding,"I was looking for anything that might be able to make my family nicer."

Neville laughed,"Uh, huh. You just want to do to them as they did to you."

"Now, Neville. In all the time you have known me have I ever been cruel to someone." "I've haven't seen you around your family much. But I bet even you would make an exception in that nice guy Potter routine for them."

'Okay, that lasted about as long as I thought it would.' Harry thought.

The train lurched into motion as the two outsiders were about to speak and they were jostled into silence. Hermione recovered quicker,"You're Harry Potter?"

Neville palmed his face and Harry gave him a special smile,"Thanks buddy. I may make you the first exception."

"Sorry man, really. But how long did you expect it to last?"

"About as long as it did, so no worries. But since you launched the spores, would you care to explain."

"Your name, man."

"True." He disengaged from the conversation and turned to looked at the pair,"Yes, I am Harry Potter." He lifted his bangs so they could get a good look and then let the cover return."If you don't mind I would like to keep it quiet. Otherwise I'll be swamped by every question asker on the train."

"Sure thing man." Ron said.

Hermione just nodded.

"Okay, now that that's out of the way we can get back to serious conversation." He turned back to Neville,"Just remember buddy, I owe you one."

"Crap, I hate it when you say it like that." Neville shivered.

Conversation continued for about ten minutes, until the door slid open again and an elderly witch with a sweet face poked her head in,"Anything from the snack trolley dears?"

Hermione said,"My parents are dentists, they would kill me if they found out I ate sweets on the way to school."

"I've got mine."Ron held up a bag that contained what was once a sandwich.

Neville sat up and started reaching into his pocket. But Harry broke in,"I've got it this time man."

He walked to the door and said,"I'll take four of everything. And do you have anything without sugar?" The transaction was finalized and Harry came back with an armload of snacks. Dumping the pile he held out a few items for Hermione,"She said that these don't contain sugar."

"Thanks Harry." She said.

"Right on man."Neville called as he grabbed a few items.

"Cool, mate." Ron said before biting the head off a chocolate frog.

They ate and laughed as the sun passed zenith and began it's long descent to the horizon. After about another hour the door slid open again. This time a blond boy with two thugs flanking him stood in the door way.

"So here you are. The great Harry Potter."

Harry lowered his charms book and peered at the boy. He knew this type of scum. Dudley had not been the only one out to make his life hell.

"How many times have you said that? Just been opening every door until you found the right one?" Harry used his most condescending voice to make his contempt clear.

The blond turned beet red at the truth of the question."You don't want to go mixing with the wrong sort, Potter. It's already having a negative effect on you."

"Yeah, I'm already smart enough not to go up and down the train making a prat out of myself."

The two hams behind the blond boy bristled at the obvious insult to their boss. "Listen Potter, I'm Draco Malfoy, and you do not want to cross me."

"Or what, you'll sick your bulldogs on me?" Harry stood and took his wand out of his book, then carefully placed his book face down on his seat. He held his wand like a professional knife fighter and waited to see if Malfoy was stupid enough to take the bait.

The mound of muscle on the left stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. Draco smirked as his henchmen was about to beat some sense into this smart ass."This is Crabbe. I think he wants to say hello."

The trio snickered and Crabbe took a slow swing with his heavy fist. Harry waited until the last possible moment, then dropped to one knee and sprang up while delivering an uppercut to the boy's gut. What no one expected to see was the mobile hill double over and have a spike of green light poking out the back of his robes.

Harry released the energy and let the now unconscious boy fall to the floor. There wasn't a mark on Crabbe but he was curled around his gut. Harry looked at Malfoy and just smiled again,"Who's next?"

Malfoy was turning even whiter than his usual pale complexion. He could not believe this impudent child could have defeated Crabbe in just one punch."Goyle, pick up Crabbe and let's go." He kept his eyes on Harry as Crabbe was collected."This isn't over Potter."

"Sure man." Harry said as he sat back down and resumed his reading. Once again Ron and Hermione were speechless, this time for five minutes. Finally Harry put down his book and took his glasses off. He tapped it with his wand and said,"Repairo." The many breaks from years of abuse sealed themselves and the tape holding them together dissolved into dust.

Hermione squealed,"That's so cool Harry. How many times have you done magic?"

Harry slipped his glasses on before speaking,"Twice. The first time was when I laid out that idiot waste of flesh."

"Was that the same blade from Ollivander's?"Neville asked.

"Yeah. I read about natural wand reactions. They are generally just a light show, but if you focus enough they can be useful." Harry said.

"That was so cool, mate." Ron said.

Hermione looked uneasy,"Do you think you should have been fighting?"

Harry leaned back and set his book back up,"I'm not too worried. First,"He ticked the points off on his fingers,"I don't think anyone is going to believe that I laid Crabbe out. Second, I don't think Malfoy will admit that his gang ran from a scrawny little runt like me. And Third, wand reactions don't show up as spells if they check my wand."

"Wow, how do you know so much about wands?" Hermione said in awe.

"Appendix B." He held up his charms book. Hermione pulled out her book and disappeared behind it.

Ron sat in silence as his friends read, wondering how he got in with such nerds. After five minutes Neville put the Space Marine Codex down,"Man, I can't really see a weakness in the Space Marines."

Harry lowered his book,"What about numbers?"

"That's the problem. Most of my weapons can just barely penetrate the armor."

"Wrong numbers. The Space Marines have great weapons and armor. But it comes at a cost. If you overwhelm a squad with large broods you can attrit their units while only loosing about half of a brood."

"I never thought of it that way. I always thought it was better to have a lot of small broods."

"Depends on your enemy. With marines, I would swarm my opponent."

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.

"It's a game called Warhammer 40K." Harry answered.

Neville pulled out a couple codices and passed them around. Even Hermione put down her school book to join in the discussion. Harry and Neville launched into an explanation of the rules and races of the game. This continued until the train rolled into the mountains, which covered the sun.

"We better get ready." Hermione said, pulling out her robes. The boys followed suit and when they were done they packed away the books but kept on talking until the train started slowing.

ooo000OOO000ooo

There's chapter four. Hope you like the short tussel. Up next, the sorting.

Thanks to my wife for reviewing this for me.


	5. Chapter 5: Decisions

Harry Potter and the Armies of the Dark Future Chapter 5: Decisions

The sun was well below the mountains and the sky was a deep navy as the students exited the train. Harry, Ron, Neville and Hermione all did their best to stay together as the unruly mass of students churned about them.

Finally a familiar voice boomed out over the crowd,"Firs years, o'er here." Hagrid repeated the call until a small mass of eleven-year-old students surrounded him.

"All here?" He asked."Then let's go."

He led the group down a path into a small stand of trees. Harry thought that walking to the castle he had spied in the distance out of the train window would be a really long walk until they came out of the trees. A small line of boats lined the shore of a huge dark lake that ran all the way to the castle.

"Okay, four to a boat." Hagrid said as he climbed into a boat that just barely fit him. When all the students had piled into the boats he took out a battered pink umbrella and tapped the side of his boat, saying,"Forward."

The boats launched from the shore and lined up as they crossed the lake with Hagrid in front. The small fleet sailed quickly across the lake and entered a ivy covered archway in the cliff the castle rested on. They continued down the tunnel for a minute and then beached on a small rocky harbor. The students clamored out and lined up before the giant of a man.

"Everyone here?" He did a quick head count."This way."

Hagrid led them up a stone staircase that exited on a grassy lawn in front of the castle. When they reached the massive oak doors the giant did another head count. Convinced that no one had been lost he knocked three times on the doors.

The door swung open to reveal a tall, black haired woman with a stern face. Harry thought she would make a perfect Adeptus Sororitas if only she were carrying a brazer of holy fire.

"The firs years, Prof. McGonagall." Hagrid said.

"Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door opened to allow the students in. She led them across the polished marble of the Entry hall. The room was huge, large enough to hold an entire full scale Dark Eldar army, with Hellions zipping about the high ceiling. There was a large stair case off to one side facing another set if huge doors.

The teacher led them into a side chamber where they were crowded in a little more than they liked. "Welcome to Hogwarts." McGonagall launched into a speech about the school, the sorting and the houses. She then told them to smarten up while she was gone.

When she returned the teacher led them to the great hall and marched them down the center isle. Harry could tell that hundreds of eyes were scanning the line of new students.

After she lined the students up before the head table she retrieved a stool and old patched pointed hat that she set infront of them.

Harry was wondering what was about to happen when a seem along the base of the hat opened and the hat started singing. The song explained about the sorting and the houses, going into detail about the traits that signified each house.

When it was done the student body broke into applause and Prof. McGonagall unrolled a scroll. As she called names students came forward. They sat on the stool and had the hat placed on their head. After a time of anywhere from a split second to a full minute the hat would call out the name of one of the houses and that student would go to sit at that house table.

Crabbe was the first one Harry was actually interested in. The hat called out Slytherin after a short pause.

There were more he just let pass until it got to Goyle, who also went to Slytherin.

Then Hermione went to Gryffindor.

Finally, after a few more, Neville was placed in Gryffindor as well.

A few later Malfoy was put in Slytherin with the hat just barely touching his head.

A couple more and it was Harry's turn. The entire hall went quiet with the calling of his name. He walked up and sat on the stool, had the hat placed on his head, and waited as the fabric covered his eyes.

"Interesting." A voice said in his head."Very interesting. Brave, loyal, friendly, smart, and ambitious. And with a streak of cruelty I have rarely seen."

Harry thought at the hat,"Listen, you have already put two of my friends in Gryffindor. So put me and Ron Weasley in there and I'll appreciate it."

"Are you sure? You could be great in Slytherin, but if you say so. And don't worry, I know just what to do with a Weasley. Then you go to..."

"Gryffindor" The hat called out. Harry took the hat off and handed it back as the Gryffindor table exploded in applause. He went to the house table and sat between Neville and Hermione.

Ron went that way toward the end of the list and sat next to Hermione.

One more student and the Sorting was over. McGonagall took the hat and stool away and an old man with a long white beard stood behind the head table.

"Welcome!" The man Harry recognized as Albus Dumbledore from a Chocolate Frog card said,"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

"Thank you"

Ron laughed,"Told you. Absolutely mad, but a genius none the less."

"Right you are brother." Twin flame tops from across the table said.

To Harry's surprise the golden platters on the table suddenly filled with all sorts of food. Some of them Harry recognized, while most of them he did not.

He dug in happily right along with almost everyone else. From his seat Harry could see Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Crabbe looked more than a little green at the sight of food. He grinned at the boy's continued discomfort.

Neville followed his friend's gaze and smiled,"Got him good, did you?"

Harry just nodded as he continued eating. Despite stuffing himself on dinner, he still found room for desert, but only just barely. When the last bits of food finally faded off of their plates Harry was the fullest he had ever been in his life.

Dumbledore got up and cleared his throat,"Now that we are all stuffed I have a few start of term announcements. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. There are a few older students that would do well to remember this."

"Also, no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch."

"And Finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Harry looked questioningly at the Weasley twins across from him. They shrugged,"No idea."

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" The song was a perfect display of chaos as each student chose a different key and rhythm. When they were done Dumbledore sent them off to bed.

Harry was still amazed at the wonders that this place had handed him in less than a day. As he followed the group up to the dorms he wondered what might happen tomorrow.

ooo000OOO000ooo

A bit short, but I'm still trying to keep the major points seperated.

Thanks to my wife for reviewing this for me.


	6. Chapter 6: Requirement

Harry Potter and the Armies of the Dark Future Chapter 6: Requirement

The next day dawned to find Harry already down in the common room along with Neville, Ron, and Hermione. They had decided to set up a small game to teach the two newcomers the rules. To everyone's surprise Ron was catching on faster than Hermione. She had read all the rules and could quote them by heart just as well as the two veterans. But actually putting that into practice was another story. By the time more students started filtering into the common room Harry was convinced that his two newest friends had a firm grasp of the rules so they started packing up to go to breakfast.

As they were climbing the stairs Harry became annoyed by the stares and whispers of the people passing him. Neville had explained a long time ago about his fame and the reasons for it, but Harry really wished the other students would just treat him like a normal person. Instead he got the side show freak treatment all the way down to the great hall.

Following breakfast, with schedules in hand, the quartet of friends made their way to class. Harry's preparation put him in good standing in most of his classes, right behind Hermione.

The one exception to this was his Friday class, a double period of Potions with the Slytherins. The problem had nothing to do with knowledge, but instead was due to the fact that Prof. Snape hatted his guts from the start.

While calling role during their first class the teacher paused at his name,"Ah Yes, Harry Potter. Our new Celebrity." The condescending tone of the asshole's voice annoyed Harry almost as much as the unsuccessfully suppressed laughing from the Slytherin welcoming committee he had run into on the train. Immediately following the roll, he started spouting off about the wonders of potion making. It would have been motivational if it weren't for the obvious contempt he had for the class.

After the speech his lip curled into a smile,"Potter! What would I get if I added powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry smiled and reached over to gently lower Hermione's hand, which had shot up at the question."Sir, you would get the Draught of Living Death." Harry started reciting everything he could remember about the sleeping potion, including various other potions it could used to make and the historical events where it had been used.

"Very well Potter, so you decided to crack your book. Where would you look to find a Bezoar?"

Hermione just waited to see what Harry might say about this. "A Bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat. It can be used as a base for many potions to cure poisons."

Snape was starting to get visibly aggravated at the arrogant smart ass who actually knew something,"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Harry was glad he had read the whole book, including the appendix. This was a tough one,"The difference is what part of the plant you take them from. Monkshood, wolfsbane and aconite are all taken from different parts of the same one."

Snape was rather groused over this one, despite himself he was actually impressed that Potter had gotten that last one,"Very well, your assignment is on the board." He gave two flicks of his wand. The instructions appeared on the black board and the supply cupboard opened,"You have two hours."

The period went just 'swimmingly', with Snape swooping around and criticizing everything he could. When he came down on Harry and Ron, all the students being broken into pairs, he could only say,"Be mindful of the time Potter."

He then went over and praised Malfoy, even though he was falling behind the rest of the class because Crabbe had been slow about preparing his ingredients."Five points for Slytherin, Draco."

Harry was relieved to be out of dungeon three hours later. He went down for lunch and began talking to his friends about the possibility of a big game that afternoon.

Fred and George came over and listened for a moment,"You know, we might know a good place for games like that." Fred said.

"But it's on one condition." George said.

"And that is?" Harry asked, wondering where this was going.

"We want to come along." Fred said.

"This looks like a cool game." George finished.

Harry looked at his friends, who all shrugged."Okay, your in."

ooo000OOO000ooo

The group of Gryffindors got to the seventh floor corridor twenty minutes later. Fred and George turned on the others and grinned widely.

"I present to you," Fred said.

"The Room of Requirement." George finished as they both gestured toward the blank wall, opposite a tapestry of a wizard being clubbed by a group of trolls in ballet shoes and tu-tus.

Harry looked at them incredulously,"Did you drag us up here just to waste our time?"

Fred looked hurt,"Oh ye of little faith,"

"We would never waste time,"

"Unless it annoyed a teacher."

"But you see, there is a hidden door right there." George waved at the still empty wall.

"All you have to do is walk past it three times,"

"While thinking of what you need."

Harry still wasn't quiet sure the twins weren't just as mad as the headmaster, but decided it couldn't hurt to try it. He walked over to the wall and started walking. As he walked he thought,'We need some place to play.' Turn. 'Someplace with tables and templates and dice.' Turn 'And rule books and every army codex.'

As he finished the third pass Hermione said,"Harry, look."

He spun and followed her pointing finger. Right in the center of the wall, there was a door with a large GW surrounded by the symbols of the various armies. He took a breath and reached for the knob. Inside he found exactly what he asked for, and so much more. There were sixteen tables ranging from snow white, all the way through the spectrum, to volcanic black. There were shelves with every possible form of terrain imaginable. Hills, rubble, ruins, fortresses, woods, grasses, spore spires, Waaagh banners, slave pits, etc, etc. And every table was set with six sets of templates and dice. Then there was the real point of interest, a book case with multiple copies of every book for Warhammer 40K.

All six of them, even the two that were familiar with the room's powers, said."Cool."

Harry turned to the rest,"Okay this works. Let's grab some rule books and we can discuss it until dinner. Then tomorrow we can try out some small stuff to make sure everyone has the rules. After that, we should be able to play whenever we can find the time."

Neville pointed out,"Yeah, but it's only going to be with two armies."

Harry scratched his head,"That should work, at least for a while. We'll think of something by then." They grabbed the books and pulled the stools around one of the tables. The discussion started with the basic rules but after about an hour turned to the many armies.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The weekend went very well for the small group of Gryffindors, most of their time was spent playing until everyone had a firm grasp of the rules.

Monday was another story though. Aside from being the return to classes, a notice was posted to the board in the common room declaring that first year flying lessons would begin that Thursday. The thing that made this a truly bad thing for Harry was that Gryffindor and Slytherin would be together for these lessons.

"Ah, man. That means that Draco and his gang are gonna be there." He said as they made their way down to the great hall.

"Don't worry about it. All his bragging is probably just hot air." Ron said.

"Maybe. But the little prick may be good." Neville countered,"And I know that I'm going to make a fool out of myself."

"Now Neville. How do you know that?" Hermione asked, trying to be reassuring.

"Because I tried it once. My uncle took me out in the country and let me use his broom."

"And?" The other five asked.

"I broke my left leg and my right arm. As well as spraining my left wrist."

"Ouch!" Was the response he got.

Fred and George each threw an arm around his shoulders."If he says anything," Fred started.

"Just let us know." George continued.

"We'll make him regret it." Fred finished.

"Thanks guys."

ooo000OOO000ooo

There's chapter six, hope you like it.

Thanks to my wife for reviewing for me.


	7. Chapter 7: Brooms and Other Mischief

Harry Potter and the Armies of the Dark Future Chapter 7: Brooms and other Mischief

By Thursday morning Neville and Harry were feeling pretty confident that they would make a good showing during the flying lessons.

As soon as they sat down the morning post arrived. Dozens of owls of every size and color swooped in to drop their packages and letters before flying off again.

One package landed in Neville's lap. He opened it to find a note from his grandmother and a large marble that appeared to be filled with white smoke."I can't believe this." He said.

"What is that thing?" Harry asked.

"It's a Remembrall. When the smoke turns red it means you've forgotten something." Neville said.

"But I've never known you to be too forgetful." Harry said.

"I was up until about three years ago. Then I spent a summer learning to play 40K. After that the most I ever forgot was to say hello when gran came in the store."

"So why the Remembrall?" Ron asked.

"She still worries about me forgetting something." During the entire conversation the smoke in the little ball had remained white.

"Well, it looks like she is worrying for no reason." Hermione said, trying to cheer him up for the thousandth time that week.

ooo000OOO000ooo

That afternoon all the Gryffindor first years made their way down to the practice lawn. Harry was only slightly worried about the breeze which was making the grass shift rhythmically.

The Slytherins were already there, clustered into tight groups. Malfoy looked up and smirked at Harry before returning to his conversation.

The teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived a moment later, taking a position next to a broom that looked considerably better kept than the rest.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Take your positions." She asked.

The class quickly assumed their places and she continued,"Now hold your hand over your broom and say UP."

Her broom shot into her hand. The class followed suit but most of the brooms did not cooperate. Neville found, to his surprise, that the broom appeared in his hand. Hermione looked annoyed at hers as it simply rolled over. Malfoy looked smug when his broom instantly responded.

After all of the students had their brooms in hand Madam Hooch continued,"Now mount your broom." She went around correcting grips and positions. Malfoy had the arrogant look on his face wiped away as she informed him that despite his years of experience he was doing it wrong.

"Now, on my whistle, kick off, raise a few feet, then come back down and land. Three. Two. One." She blew the whistle and the class lifted. They all hovered a few feet off the ground and then started back down. Just before Goyle's feet touched the ground his broom started jumping and jinking randomly.

"Lean forward Mr. Goyle. Bring it back down." The teacher's instructions only served to unbalance the large boy and cause him to fall off his broom. The broom flew away and shattered into splinters as it slammed into the castle wall. Goyle flailed out and tried to stop himself as he hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

Madam Hooch hurried over, inspecting the boy as she helped him to his feet. His arm was bent at an odd angel,"Looks like a broken arm." She looked over the rest of the class,"I want the rest of you to stay here while I take him up to the hospital wing. If any of you leave the ground, you'll be out of here before you can say Quidditch."

Goyle followed her while cradling his arm.

Malfoy bent over and picked something up off the ground."Maybe I should get Goyle one if these." He showed Neville's Remembrall around,"He might remember how to deal with a bucking broom."

Neville stepped up,"Go ahead. I don't need it."

"Nah, I'll just get rid of it." Malfoy threw the glass ball into the air on a high arc toward the school. Just before it struck the wall a streak slid past it and swung around toward the crowd. Harry stopped right in front of the group and touched down lightly on the grass. The Gryffindors cheered and clapped, clustering around him. He tossed the smoke-filled marble to its proper owner and was walking out of the group when...

"Harry Potter!"

'Oh Crap' Harry thought as he saw Professor McGonagall running down the lawn toward him.

"Never...in all my time at Hogwarts" She was speechless, whether from anger of running was unclear."How dare you...might have broken your neck."

"It wasn't his fault.." Parvati Patil, a fellow Gryffindor, started.

"Be quiet, Miss Patil..."

"But Malfoy..." Ron tried.

"That's enough, Mr. Weasley." She turned to Harry."Potter follow me, now." Malfoy looked smug as Harry followed McGonagall off the field. Harry so wanted to wipe that smile off his face, but decided to wait and do it later. If he was still at school.

As he followed the teacher into the school he tried to think of something he could use as a defense. But the truth was that he had known exactly what he was doing, and hadn't cared that he was breaking the rules. He relived the brief experience on the broom in his mind, wallowing in the exhilaration of being in the air. It was like he was almost as at home on a broom as he was on the ground.

McGonagall stopped at a door and pulled it open,"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"

Harry thought,'Well, I guess a paddling is better than being expelled'

But Wood turned out to be a fifth-year boy. They followed the professor into an unused classroom where the poltergeist Peeves was writing obscenities on the board. Minerva ordered him out and then rounded on Harry."Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I've found you a Seeker."

Wood looked like Christmas had come early."Are you sure, Professor?"

"Absolutely, the boy's a natural. He plucked a Remembrall out of the air less than a foot away from a wall." She addressed Harry again,"Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"

"Yes, ma'am. Dose this mean I not getting expelled?" He asked with a straight face.

"Not for the moment. But don't always expect such leniency when you break the rules."

"I won't, ma'am. But why?"

"Wood here is the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and they are desperately in need of a seeker. You are a natural seeker, just like your father. The last seeker, Charlie Weasley, your friend Ronald Weasley's older brother, wasn't even that good."

"Um, ma'am. What is Quidditch?"

She smiled at him,"I'll let you and Wood discuss that. But remember that this is not the usual consequence for violating the rules around here. If you do anything out of line again, I may have to reconsider."

"No you won't ma'am,"Harry said,"because I won't be breaking any more rules." He knew it was probably a lie, but he would give it his best. 'Or at least I won't get caught' He thought.

"Good to hear." She walked out and Wood led Harry back to the Gryffindor common room.

ooo000OOO000ooo

That night at dinner Harry was getting grilled by his friends. He was deliberately being less than informative with them all, partially because Wood wanted to keep it a secret. The other part was his own pleasure. He found that he enjoyed watching them try to guess at every point. Just as he was admitting that he was not being expelled, Fred and George walked up.

"Brilliant mate." Fred said to Harry.

"From the way Wood is acting you must be something good." George said.

"He looked like he was about to float off, he was so high."

"But how did you get McGonagall to make you Seeker?"

"Seeker?" Hermione, Ron and Neville all asked at once.

"Shhhhh!" The three members of the Quidditch team responded.

"Try to keep it down,"Harry said."Wood wants it to be a surprise."

"But Seeker?" Ron started."I mean, first years are never chosen for the house teams."

"Yeah, I know. Wood told me that I'm the youngest in a century." Harry said.

"This actually makes sense." Hermione observed, absently.

"How's that?" Harry asked.

"Your father was Gryffindor Seeker when he was here. If memory serves, they took the cup almost every year he was with the team."

"Woah. I never knew your dad was a Seeker?" Neville said.

Harry answered,"Neither did I. I never heard about my parents."

"Well, I hope you don't think you are being rewarded for breaking rules." Hermione admonished.

"Hermione, you should know that breaking rules is its own reward." George said.

"And as long as you get away with it, its okay" Fred said.

"I understand that if I put one toe out of line, McGonagall will throw the book at me." Harry said.

Malfoy entered the great hall and looked surprised to see Harry sitting there. He made his way over to the Gryffindor table with Crabbe in tow. When he got there he sneered,"So Potter, having one last meal before you catch the train?"

"Why don't you go spend some time in the forest Malfoy." Fred growled back.

"Maybe find a unicorn to give you an attitude adjustment from behind." George said.

"What's wrong Potter? Can't you speak for yourself?" Malfoy asked with that smug tone, knowing that he would catch it bad if he did anything wrong.

"Draco,"Harry said with a chilling calm in his voice,"what do you want? Are you still not satisfied with the way I have humiliated you so far?"

"Listen to me Potter."Malfoy hissed,"I would take you easy in a fair fight."

"That sounds like a good idea, if you have the balls to show up." Harry replied.

"That's it Potter. Wizard's Duel, midnight, trophy room."

"What, you don't want anyone to see you getting your butt handed to you?"

"Ahhhh!" Draco snapped and drew his wand, pointing it at Harry's face.

"Mr. Malfoy!" The voice of Prof. McGonagall rang through the great hall. "What exactly do you think you are doing?"

Malfoy turned pale,"I was, uh..."

"Draco came over here and started harassing Harry." Hermione started explaining,"Then when Harry responded in a civil voice he got angry and challenged Harry to a duel at a time that would get Harry in trouble. When Harry refused to break the rules he got even madder and drew his wand."

None of the students could believe the careful half truth that had come out of the mouth of the girl that they all considered too straight laced. Malfoy realized how much his frozen stance, wand still in hand, made the story seem that much more credible.

"Ten points from Slytherin for attempting to get another student in trouble Mr. Malfoy. Now get back to your seat and leave Mr. Potter to his meal." McGonagall turned around and went back to the head table.

"Lying Filthy Mudblood." Malfoy hissed out just before turning around. What he didn't see was Harry grab Ron and force him to stay put. He may not have completely understood the insult, but he figured it was not a nice thing to call someone. No one saw his own wand held under the table, ready just in case Malfoy had actually done something.

"Chill out little bro." George said.

"We'll get him." Fred said. The twins then turned to the girl,"And don't let that prick get to you."

"We have a new spell we want to try on him." George grinned.

Hermione smiled and wiped her eyes,"Thanks. I appreciate it." She turned to Ron,"And thanks Ron, I almost wish you had done something to him."

"He would have gotten it five times as bad if we weren't around so many teachers." Harry placed his wand back in his pocket to emphasize his point."But I think we should leave it to the professional trouble makers."

"We thank you Mr. Potter." The twins chorused.

"Now what do you know about that corridor on the third floor?" Harry asked the twins.

The group leaned in closer,"We found a back way into the area." Fred said.

"But it's one of the variable stair cases." George continued.

"It is only available between two and three in the morning." Fred finished the report.

"So, how do we get in there? Filch and Norris patrol the halls at random all night." Harry thought out loud.

"Not quiet at random."

"They meet in several places at specific times."

"At that time," Fred said, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket,"They will be around the front door."

"How do you know that?" Neville asked."Have you followed them all over the school?"

The twins looked at each other, then looked back at Neville,"Noooot exactly."

"Okay,"Harry interrupted,"So we need to leave the dorm about one-thirty. Get to the entrance just as the stair changes." He continued to detail the plan, knowing that it would probably not survive contact whatever was supposed to kill them.

Hermione cleared her throat,"Just to CMA, we really shouldn't be out that late." The others waited."But I think we will need a diversion."

The twin flame tops grinned,"Leave that to us. It should be the perfect time to try that new thing." Fred said.

"Just the right situation, indeed." George finished.

Harry basked in the glow of the fear caused by the two redheads. He wished it could continue, but it was getting late. He stretched and suggested an early bed, so they could be up on time.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The group stopped at the top of the stairs and Harry checked his watch. Fred and George were looking at an old piece of parchment when they grinned,"No one around but us."

Just as his watch ticked over to two there was a shimmering around the door. When it settled he reached for the handle and was unsurprised to find it locked. He pulled out his wand and tapped the lock,"Alohomora." he whispered.

The latch clicked and the door swung open. Inside they could only see the dimly lit walls of the corridor. But as their eyes adjusted they started making out a furry shape facing the other way. Chains scraped on the stone floor as it turned to see who had dared to intrude on it's assigned patrol. As it's three heads came around red eyes scanned the group before it started growling at them. The low rumbling reached into their hearts and caused some interesting reactions.

Ron, Hermione and the twins backed away from the slowly advancing beast. Harry could feel the fear radiating from the others and let it wet his appetite for cruelty. He wanted to torture something, and this beast was just asking for it. Neville on the other hand could feel the courage of having his best friend beside him as though he had an entire hive at his back. He was ready to tear the three headed dog to shreds and drink it's blood.

The two boys raised their wands as one and pointed them directly into two sets of eyes. For a long moment they just stared at each other, determining what kind of threat the other represented.

Finally the dog gave a small whimper and lowered its heads into a submissive position. The two brave ones pointed their wands at the beast and said,"Stupefy!" The dog slid back along the floor and thudded to a halt against the regular entrance.

They had manic grins on their faces as they turned to each other and spoke their usual battle cries. When they turned back to the spot where the beast had stood they spotted a trap door. Pulling it open the rest of the group joined them to peer into the darkness below.

"I wonder what could be down there?" Ron asked.

"We can find out some other time, people are coming to investigate the noise." Fred said as he examined the parchment.

"Let's go then. We can always set off the diversion if we need to." George said, waving everyone to the door.

ooo000OOO000ooo

With the use of the parchment the twins had, they had managed to get back to the Gryffindor common room without being spotted. As the portrait swung closed Fred pointed his wand out the hole and a low thud was felt through the stone floor.

George looked at the map for a few seconds and then touched his wand to it and whispered something. "Got away with it."He said as he put the parchment away.

"As always." Fred said.

"What was the diversion?" Hermione asked.

"Just a small boom in one of the bathrooms." George said.

"On the opposite end of the castle." Fred said.

Harry stretched,"Think it's time for bed. We can talk about everything tomorrow."

The others nodded groggily as they made their way toward the stairs.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Hope that helps satieate the desire for violence, at least for a while. It will get nastier at it progresses.

Thanks to my wife for reviewing for me.


	8. Chapter 8: Holloween

Harry Potter and the Armies of the Dark Future Chapter 8: Halloween

The next morning the group of adventurers met in the common room before heading down for breakfast. On the walk they talked in hushed tones.

"So, what do you think that giant dog was guarding?" Hermione asked.

"Probably has something to do with that Gringotts break in over the summer." Fred said.

"Just about the only place harder to get into would be Hogwarts." George said.

"But the vault that was broken into was already empty." Neville added.

"Yeah." Harry said."But it was the same vault Hagrid visited that day we went to Diagon Alley."

"Did you get a look at what was in there?" Ron asked."

"Nah. We took a separate car." Neville answered.

"But Hagrid handed over a letter from Dumbledore to get access to the vault. So it has something to do with the Headmaster." Harry said as though he was just  
thinking out loud.

"Well that narrows it down." George snorted.

"Spot on mate. Dumbledore only had a hand in almost every major event for the last half century." Fred said.

Hermione decided to speak up,"But most of those events were settled to the point where there would be no need to hide anything."

"So we just have to find something that he was involved in where he might need to hide something." He turned his head to look at Hermione."Does the information  
font have any idea where to start?"

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment,"There are at least a dozen possible items. Is there any way we could narrow it down?"

"Maybe we could get something out of Hagrid." Everyone looked at Neville,"He was the one who picked up whatever it is."

"Maybe we could go down to see him tomorrow after lunch. Does that agree with everyone?" They all nodded at Harry's suggestion."Good, then let's get some  
breakfast."

ooo000OOO000ooo

The next morning started with Hermione bursting into the first year boy's dorm and rushing over to hug Harry."Thanks for the gift!" She squealed as she let him go.  
"But how did you know which one?"

Harry slipped his glasses on before answering."You seemed to be favoring the Eldar after you finished reading all the books. Besides, they do seem to fit your  
personality."

"Oy!" Ron shouted indignantly."This is the boy's dorm."

"Oh, grow up." Hermione dismissed Ron's objection. As she headed out she turned back to Harry."I can't wait to start painting them. Which craft-world should I  
choose?" She asked aerially as the door closed.

"What was that about mate?" Ron asked as he started dressing.

"I bought her an Eldar army for her birthday." Harry answered, following suit with Ron and Neville. After eating they all adjourned to the gaming room where Hermione immediately pulled out her army and started joining the pieces together with her wand. As she continued the others set up some small games to enjoy the time.

After about an hour they all looked up at the sound of something scraping across the table Hermione was at. What they found was a four foot tall pewter Avatar with  
it's three foot sword held over it's head. Hermione was bustling around with her wand, carefully coloring various parts of the huge 'miniature'.

"Hey! No fair using titans." Neville yelled.

The whole group, except Harry who snorted at the comment, looked at him curiously. "Warhammer Epic. Uses an even larger scale and has these giant killing machines called titans. Just one of them would wipe out both Harry and my armies combined." He explained.

"Sounds nasty." Fred said.

"Right up there with a muggle nuke." George said.

"Don't worry guys,"Hermione said."I just wanted to get the details right. I'll shrink it back down when I'm done."

ooo000OOO000ooo

After lunch they all headed down to Hagrid's hut, the twins with extra provisions. They had heard horror stories about Hagrid's cooking from Charlie.

The afternoon went nominally well, with Harry figuring out that if you put enough sugar in the tea and then let a rock cake soak in the pseudo-syrup you got a  
barely edible pudding.

Finally they worked the conversation around to what was under the three headed dog. Hagrid looked shocked,"How do you know about Fluffy?"

"We heard him whining from behind a door while we were exploring the castle one afternoon." Harry answered."When we went to investigate he was just as  
happy as could be to have company."

"Really, Hagrid." Fred started. "You should visit him more often."

"He seems so lonely."

"And to just shut him up like that,"

"Seems just down right cruel."

"He's such a nice dog too. George finally finished.

"That's wha' I said. But for some reason Dumbledore thought he would make a good guard dog." Hagrid answered."Besides, you kids shouldn' have been anywhere  
near there. Tha' whole area is off limits."

"But we just want to know what's under there Hagrid." Hermione said in such a sweet and innocent voice that Harry could feel his teeth dissolving.

"It's none o' your business. What's down there is between Dumbledore an Nicholas Flamel." Hagrid realized what he had said a moment too late.

Hermione grabbed his arm and hugged it,"Thanks so much Hagrid. That really narrows it down." She turned to the others,"Should we be going. I think I can finish  
painting my guardian squad before dinner if we hurry."

"Sure thing."Harry said as they all stood."Thanks for the tea Hagrid. Later."

Hagrid sat there with a blank expression on his face, wondering how they had managed to get so much out of him.

ooo000OOO000ooo

When they were back in the room of requirement they all rounded on Hermione. Harry said."First of all, please never do that uber-sweet thing to me. I don't think my teeth would survive it." This earned him a round of chuckles from the whole group."But seriously. Who is Nicholas Flamel?"

"I don't really know." If this were an anime, the boys would have face faulted at this admission. As it was they looked at the girl with such incredulity painted on their faces that a company should have patented it. "What? I was just playing it so we could get away before Hagrid made us promise to forget it."

"Looked convincing to us." George said.

"Along with that tooth roting look, you could make a dangerous prankster." Fred said.

Hermione grinned evilly at them before pulling a paving stone out of her bag and letting it thump on the table. She then opened the book and started flipping pages.

"What are you looking for?" Ron asked.

"Nicholas Flamel of course. I checked out a Dumbledore biography from the library. Figured it might come in handy." The brown haired witch-in-training answered.

After five minutes the boys started talking about the various Warhammer armies while they waited. Fred and George were going on about the brutal joy of the Orks.  
Ron was examining the strengths of the Space Marines which earned him a moan from Neville,"Another Hummie."

Harry snorted,"At least with five armies we should all be able to refine our styles a lot more. And we also should be able to go for some truly awesome scale battles."

"Oh, yeah." Hermione said. "I may have figured out a way to apply the charms of a Wizards chess set to an army. I just need to work all the rules into the ritual."

"That would be over the top." Fred said.

"Just order the army around and have them go and fight."

"Even shoot at each other."

"And the damage is repaired before the next game." George said.

"We might need to get some kind of shield around the table." Neville interrupted the pseudo-monologue."Some of the weapons could do some serious harm."

"Do you think you could work that into the spell as well Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Shouldn't be a problem." She said absentmindedly before shouting,"Here it is!" She set the book flat and paraphrased,"Looks like Flamel and Dumbledore were working on the Sorcerer's Stone. It's an artifact that can produce unlimited amounts of gold and Elixir of Life."

"Bollix." Ron muttered.

He got elbowed in the ribs by one of the twins while the other said,"Language, Ron. We are in the presence of a lady."

"And besides, mum would be just shocked."

"That's why your not going to tell her." Ron shot back," And I'm sorry Hermione. It just slipped."

"That's okay." She replied before continuing,"So it looks like the Sorcerer's stone is hidden under Fluffy."

"Now we just need one more piece of information." Harry said.

"And that would be?" Neville asked.

"Who is after the stone? Who would be both powerful and desperate enough to break into Gringotts? And then who would require such nasty security as a Cerberus  
wanna-be to deter them?"

"Who else?" Fred and George asked together. They looked at each other with identical looks that said 'It was my turn'. They shrugged and decided to drop it.

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Voldemort." Harry said. The looks of shocked horror on all his friend's faces made his heart sore. 'Being cruel is so easy when they attach so much fear to a name.' He thought.

"Don't say that name." Ron and Neville hissed.

Harry continued as though they had not said anything,"He's the only one that actually fits all the conditions. Now we just need to figure out how he plans to get into  
the castle."

"I don't see how he could." Hermione said."I mean, he's the most wanted dark wizard on the planet. On top of that, he would be recognized by all the staff."

"Not necessarily." Harry countered thoughtfully."We don't really know the extent of his powers. He's been out of sight for almost a decade. He could have picked up  
a few tricks since then."

"Like what?" Ron asked.

"I have no idea." Harry replied. "But for all we know he could be hiding inside someone. Maybe a teacher."

"A teacher!" They all exclaimed. Then Hermione spoke." Why would you think that?"

"My scar starts hurting whenever I'm around Quirrell."

"But how could it be Quirrell." George said.

"Yeah. It's more likely to be Snape, mate." Fred said.

"That would just be too cliche. True Snape is a bastard. But he would be the obvious place to look. While Quirrell would be the perfect place to hide. No one would suspect that stuttering little shit of hiding Voldemort." Harry said.

Everyone but Hermione gasped, which gave her the lead to refute first."That's pretty circumstantial Harry. All we know is that Voldemort probably wants the stone. For all we know your scar hurting is just normal for it."

"It doesn't happen at any regular interval. Just when Quirrell is too close, or when he turns his back on me." Harry said.

"Let's assume that it is Quirrell." Neville said."What can we do to stop him?"

"If we could get our hands on the stone first." George said.

"That would put a real damper on his plans." Fred said.

"Then what?" Ron asked."We can't give it to any of the teachers. They'll just put it back and give us detention."

"We could play a little shell game with it." Hermione suggested.

"Or we could keep it in here." Harry put in. "I can't think of a better place, or even a different form of the room."

"We could use the junk room." Fred said.

"He could search for years and not find it." George said.

"But what about a summoning spell." Fred argued.

"The room doesn't exist unless the right door is there." George countered.

"So we hide it in the junk room." Harry said."We can try for it over Christmas break. I think that's probably the best chance we'll have." They all agreed and quickly got back on the subject of which army was the best as Hermione returned to her painting.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The following week, all the first years started to settle into the routine of school life as the last few got the basics down and found the going easier. The group that had formed around Harry came together at every chance they got, usually meals, to rehash one detail or another of the plan. Neville wanted to just take Quirrell out of the equation, violently if necessary. Hermione wasn't sure that Quirrell was the right target. Ron wanted to destroy the stone on sight, just to be sure. Finally the twins wanted to use the stone to produce heap loads of gold.

Harry could see where all of them were coming from, and different parts of him wanted the same. But using the stone was too dangerous. Ditto on destroying it, as they had no idea what that would involve. There was a nagging suspicion, in the back of his mind, that he was wrong about Quirrell. But the facts fit too well, and Snape was a long term teacher at the school. While Quirrell was a new acquisition, and almost an unknown to most of the students. That doubt was all that kept him from backing his best friend in the 'neutralize' train of thought.

The other problem was that they doubted Fluffy was the only security between them and the stone. Assuming that all the major forms of magic were present, that would leave herbology, potions, enchantment, transfiguration, and the dark arts. Also assuming that the teachers for these subjects had set up there own challenge, that would mean some very different styles.

Snape would be sneaky and underhanded. Harry expressed that Snape would make an almost perfect follower of Tzeentch. McGonagall would be straight forward, but very difficult. Flitwick loved to make them think through any major problems, so probably a puzzle. Sprout could be almost anything to do with herbology. Same for Quirrell and the dark arts.

"That just leaves Dumbledore." Harry said one night in the common room.

"Why Dumbledore?" Ron asked.

"I doubt he is going to leave the protection of a powerful artifact, which belong to his good friend, just to other people." Harry answered."And I'll bet you Galleons to Knuts that his is going to be the hardest."

None of the group took the bet as they all agreed, even if for different reasons. The twins respected Dumbledore enough not to bet against him on this one. The rest were in a form of awe where the headmaster was concerned.

"Okay, we all need to brush up on all the subjects, just in case one of us doesn't make it. I would hate to fail, or die, because our herbology expert didn't make it to that part. Each of us needs to be able to go on even if all the rest of us are taken out." They all nodded at Harry, which brought them to assigning individual areas of intensive study.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Saturday was a welcome relief from the routine, and Harry's first chance to play all week. He was looking forward to a perfect day of everyone doing their best to slaughter each other. Especially with the addition of Hermione's army to lend some much needed variety to the games. The morning post quickly derailed his train of thought.

Glancing up out of habit, he noticed a long, thin package being carried by several owls coming straight toward him. They released the parcel and he stood to catch it before it could disrupt anyones breakfast. A letter was dropped before him as he returned to his seat with the object stored next to him.

Reading the contents of the short note confirmed that it was indeed a broom, the fastest model currently on the market, and that the professor apparently felt it necessary to tell him not to open it at the table. Honestly, Harry suspected that trying to deny what it was would be very difficult due to the tight wrapping.

He finished his breakfast and went with the rest up to the Gryffindor dorms. Just long enough to secure the broom and they were off again to the gaming room.

When they reached the corridor with the painting of the idiot wizard being beaten to death by his students, they found Professor Dumbledore walking in the other direction.

He nodded toward them,"Not getting into any trouble, are you boys?" He asked the twins.

"Not at all Professor."

"Just going to play a game."

"What could you be playing up here?" The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes held a hint of curiosity.

"Would you care to join us Professor?" Harry asked. He thought that if the Headmaster approved their use of the room, no one else could say otherwise. It had been bugging him that if one of the anal retentive teachers found them it could put an 'official' end to their use of the facilities.

"Certainly, Harry. It is a dreary day outside, so perhaps a little diversion would be in order." Dumbledore answered.

Neville stepped up to the wall and activated the spell to bring the door into existence. When he was done he opened the door for the rest of them."Professor Dumbledore. Welcome to the Room of Requirement."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Harry had no choice but to admit that Dumbledore was a master tactician. He had trounced them all every game but the first two. As soon as he got a feeling for the game, he could turn any force into a deadly weapon that would slice through the opposition easily.

Harry had enjoyed himself immensely, mainly because he now had a new opponent to challenge him. He had missed playing against someone like Neville's cousin on a regular basis. Now he had a new goal, trounce Dumbledore.

Heading out from dinner toward the Quidditch pitch, he kept reviewing several of the headmasters more briliant moves.

Wood was waiting for him when he walked through the gates. The explanations of the various team positions and balls took about fifteen minutes. After all this Wood had Harry take off and threw golf balls for him to catch.

When the shadows finally got too deep, they packed up and headed back to the castle.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Once the routine was established the days seemed to fly by. September was over before Harry realized. Then Halloween was looming on the horizon.

To open the week before the morbid holiday the twins unveiled their newest method for spreading chaos. As the group made their way back to the room after lunch on Sunday, they encountered Draco's gang.

"So, Potter. I see you still haven't improved your company any." Draco called." I'm not sure which is worse, the blood traitors or the mudblood."

Six wands acted as one, though the exact spells were lost in the mixed calls. The end result was Crabbe and Goyle laid out from two hexes each. The effects interacted slightly to give Crabbe a violently purple shade of hair, and Goyle's skin turned puce. Draco, on the other hand, found himself stripped bare, his skin and hair a sparkling gold, while a half foot crater exploded out of the stone wall behind him.

Draco stood in shock for a moment before bolting in the other direction.

"Quickly," Hermione said. "Cast a levitation spell before he can come back."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because the teachers can figure out the last spell cast by a wand." Harry replied. They all complied, Ron with some difficulty. Hermione had been helping him practice the levitation spell for class, but he still had problems. They all then hurried away from the site, with Fred checking the map they had used many times since that first night with Fluffy.

When they reached their retreat Harry turned to the twins."What was that spell you two used?"

"A little something we've been working on."

"Got the inspiration from the orks."

"They have a work, Dakka."

"It means either a big boom,"

"Or gold, depending on context."

"So if it hits an inanimate object,"

"It goes boom. But if it something living,"

"It gets stripped naked and turned gold."

"Bloody brilliant mate." The twins finished with a high five for their successful spell creation.

The other four could only stare in shock, until Harry gathered enough sense to speak."How do you two do that?"

The twins looked at each other, then back at the group,"We found a spell years ago."

"A kind of family magic."

"Only works on twins."

"But it lets us communicate telepathically,"

"So we use it to pull this."

"Really throws people off."

"That sounds like a pretty complicated spell." Hermione said.

"It is. We would have to preform the ritual once a day,"

"Except we found a shortcut."

That was all they said, returning to the game they had left. The others soon followed, assuming they would stand little chance of getting any more out of the pair.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Halloween greeted all the residents of Hogwarts with the smell of baking pumpkin pies wafting up from the kitchens. The classrooms had orange, red, and brown  
decorations strewn throughout them. Jack 'o lanterns replaced the usual floating candles in the great hall. Some of the more festive teachers even went so far as to  
dress in appropriate colors.

At the same time some of the others seemed to think that they had to make up for the leniency of there fellows by being even harsher than usual. Snape grilled his classes like he might not get another chance, setting new standers for sadism.

That evening the great hall had swarms of live bats circling above the tables. Everyone was just getting ready to dig in when the massive doors opened. Professor Quirrell ran the length of the hall between the tables, coming to a screeching halt before the head table.

Harry could see worry on his face, but no real fear as he shouted,"Troll ...in the dungeon ...thought you oughtta know!" He then proceeded to collapse.

Most of the students panicked, sending off a series of terrified shrieks. Dumbledore stood and bellowed for silence while setting off small explosions with his wand. Harry felt rather disgruntled by the sudden end to the fearful sound around him, but still basked in the glow of the pure emotion radiating from the student body. The headmaster gave quick instructions for the students to proceed to their dorms, then he led the teachers on the troll hunt.

Harry and his group hung back slightly and managed to separate themselves from the rest of the group. Fred checked the map and found the troll not in the dungeon, but headed for one of the upper floors. They also noticed Quirrell moving toward the stairs with Snape following at a discreet distance. Deciding to have some fun with their two least favorite teachers, they set off to find the troll.

It didn't take long before they got close enough to catch the smell of a creature with no sense of personal hygiene. They got it's attention with a few light hexes and ran, leading it up to the third floor.

They quickly ducked into the out of bounds corridor and Fluffy bowed before those it recognized as scarier than itself. The whole group stepped back from the door as it shook from a massive impact. The banded wood rocked several times before a loud yelp was heard. Harry was picturing Quirrell jumping in real fear as he found his distraction blocking the way to the stone. They all watched on the map as the troll charged the teacher, just to stop dead as Snape came around the corner and cast a spell. The troll flew back and landed on the floor, motionless.

Neville led the group in a hasty retreat into the darker shadows at the back of the chamber. They all waited patiently, wands poised to stun the first person to come through the door.

After ten minutes it was decided that no one was coming. A check of the map confirmed this, showing the teachers levitating the troll out of the castle. With the coast clear they exited the off limits section and made their way quickly to Gryffindor tower. Using the excuse of getting lost during one of the many class crossings, they explained how they had gotten separated from the rest of their house. Harry and the rest then joined in the meal that had been delivered to the common room.

After finding a private place the twins cast a silencing spell, shutting out the noise of the other students and limiting their own.

"Does anyone else need more proof that Quirrell is the one after the stone?" Harry asked. He was met with shaking heads, so continued,"We need to make sure we can do whatever it takes to get their first. We know we can get past Fluffy, but he is probably the easiest challenge." He started turning to each in turn."Neville, how's the study of herbology coming?"

"Bloody slowly. There are a lot of possible plants that could be used for guard duty. The only thing they really have in common is that they usually retreat from fire."

"Good to know. How's it coming with you two?" He said to Ron and Hermione.

Ron answered,"Riddles and logic puzzles and a pain, mate. But we're getting their."

"We've also been going over some of the basic tactics and strategy books we can get our hands on." Hermione added.

Harry nodded and turned to the twins,"And you guys?"

"This incident shows us that Quirrell seems to prefer the direct approach."

"His challenge is most likely going to involve combat."

"Which is, of course, no problem for us."

"But Dumbledore is still a mystery."

"No telling what he's going to pull out for this kind of job."

"Okay." Harry said."Keep at it, and start comparing notes. We still have over a month before Christmas break and we should be able to improve all of our skills by then." With that Harry signaled from the zone of privacy to be dropped, allowing them to join the festive spirit around them.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Thanks for the idea on enlarging spell Reflections. Had already thought of the wizard chess idea, but using the other spells to get better detail is a cool idea.

Thanks to my wife for reviewing for me.


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